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Even at a fraction of his full, healthy self, Fred Stamps is the embodiment of the Edmonton Eskimos.

He ended up playing just five-sixths of the 2013 CFL season before being shut down on the nine-game injured list last Friday with a series of maladies piling up since suffering a bone bruise in his foot back in training camp.

But Stamps used the 15 games he played this season to amass a league-leading 1,259 receiving yards — 76 more than Montreal Alouettes receiver S.J. Green currently has in second place heading into the final week of the schedule.

“He’s really personified a pro, he’s personified what we mean when we say ‘Eskimo man,’ ” said Eskimos head coach Kavis Reed. “He’s come out and he’s worked very hard to continue to improve as a player.

“And when you say improvement and Fred Stamps, that’s almost oxymoronic.”

Regardless of whether or not Stamps ends up with the receiving title after this weekend plays out, he will go down as the Eskimos most outstanding player nominee for this season, as votes by members of the Football Reporters of Canada and CFL head coaches were announced Wednesday.

“It’s been a tough season with the losses and I still feel like I could play better, but I appreciate the award (nomination),” said Stamps, who was on pace this year for career numbers even better than the league-best 1,402 receiving yards he posted in 2009.

But how much more could Stamps have done to help this 3-14 team besides be the top player at his position and score a career-high 11 touchdowns?

“There’s a lot more I could have done,” said Stamps, who supports his team to the bitter end, even if it means yelling at the TV when they’re playing their season finale in Regina on Saturday (3 p.m., TSN, 630 CHED). “It’s a team effort, one man can’t win a game by himself. But I just hold a lot on me, I just feel like I could play better.

“It’s been a tough year and I’m just ready to put it behind us.”

If he had his say, Stamps didn’t need to think twice about who he’d have chosen as the team’s most outstanding player this year.

“Mike Reilly,” Stamps said of the quarterback who is second overall in passing yards, despite being in his first full CFL season as a starter. “The things that he’s done, the things that he’s dealt with this year, he’s my MOP.”

Of course, it helps having the league’s leading receiver to throw to, but Stamps said Reilly’s own qualities are what stand out to him.

“He’s a tough quarterback,” Stamps said. “You saw him in the Montreal game get hit in the head, get up and throw a touchdown before going to the sideline for concussion protocol.

“With guys like that, if everybody comes together and plays like that, we’ll win a lot of football games.”

As for the off-season, Stamps said he’s looking forward to healing up and fishing in the Gulf of Mexico with his son, Fred Jr.

OVERDUE BILL: The Eskimos top draft pick in 2013 will remain in the NFL for the foreseeable future.

Six-foot-five, 302-pound defensive tackle Stefan Charles was signed to the Buffalo Bills 53-man roster after spending the first eight weeks of the season on the Tennessee Titans practice squad.

Charles is the Eskimos second top draft pick in as many years to begin his pro career south of the border, after taking Virginia offensive lineman Austin Pasztor fourth overall in 2012.

A native of Tillsonburg, Ont., Pasztor is currently the starting right tackle for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Despite the nomination for MOP, Fred Stamps feels he could do more for Eskimos

Even at a fraction of his full, healthy self, Fred Stamps is the embodiment of the Edmonton Eskimos.

He ended up playing just five-sixths of the 2013 CFL season before being shut down on the nine-game injured list last Friday with a series of maladies piling up since suffering a bone bruise in his foot back in training camp.

But Stamps used the 15 games he played this season to amass a league-leading 1,259 receiving yards — 76 more than Montreal Alouettes receiver S.J. Green currently has in second place heading into the final week of the schedule.

“He’s really personified a pro, he’s personified what we mean when we say ‘Eskimo man,’ ” said Eskimos head coach Kavis Reed. “He’s come out and he’s worked very hard to continue to improve as a player.

“And when you say improvement and Fred Stamps, that’s almost oxymoronic.”

Regardless of whether or not Stamps ends up with the receiving title after this weekend plays out, he will go down as the Eskimos most

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With the Grey Cup literally within reach at Commonwealth Stadium on Friday, the Edmonton Eskimos reaffirmed their hold on first place in the West Division with an 30-5 win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders.